1) Dwight Howard has refused to sign a one year deal with the Magic for the 2012-2013 season

2) Without this contract agreement from Dwight Howard, the Magic will inevitably be inclined to believe that Howard will potentially not return for the 2012-2013 (as Lebron James did)

3) If Howard doesn't return for the 2012-2013 season and the Magic keep Howard for the rest of the season, the Magic will not be able to get valuable assests in return for Howard.

4) Howard will not return for the 2012-2013 season because he doesn't believe he can win a championship with the Orlando Magic and the proof for this is his refusal to commit by signing a binding contract

5) The Magic want to get valuable assests in return for Howard and the only secure way to do that would be by trading Howard before 3pm Eastern tomorrow.

.: Therefore, Howard will be traded before 3pm Eastern tomorrow.

Now you may ask, where will Dwign Howard be playing by the end of tomorrow?

The answer to that is the Nets. Plain and simple. Howard wants to play with a top point guard and the Nets have a top 5 point guard in Deron Williams. Howard wants to be surrounded by competent players and the Nets have the cap space to bring in other valuable assets. Now, from the Magic's business perspective, the Nets have valuable assets (Brook Lopez for example) that would benefit the Magic by either allowing the Magic to uses those assests to make further trades or by making some of those assets a permanent component of the Magic team.

There you have it. Hope you enjoyed reading. I'm looking forward to reading what you people think.

With the trade deadline a few hours away, nobody had any idea what Dwight Howard was planning to do. Much of that uncertainty was the result of Howard's ever-changing mind.

After informing the Magic he would opt-in and delay his free agency on Wednesday, Howard changed his mind before playing the Spurs and looked to be on his way out of Orlando.

Both the organization and fans were upset with Howard's actions as it seemed he was trying to manipulate his way to the New Jersey Nets. In the process, he appeared to have relinquished control of his future to agents and advisers that are believed to be pushing him to a larger market.

Howard, however, finally had enough and decided to set the record straight.

Howard confirmed to RealGM on Wednesday evening that he will waive his early termination option and stay in Orlando for at least the 12-13 season.

Howard also realizes the impact that his indecision has caused and wants to make things right in the city that has watched him grow both professionally and personally since he came into the NBA in 2004 as the first overall pick.

"Man, listen, you know my heart, my soul and everything I have is in Orlando," Howard told RealGM. "I just can't leave it behind."

Dealing with such a big decision was new territory for Howard.

To help with the process he sought advice from people he believed had his best interest in mind. All the while, his heart remained in Orlando. While he wanted to keep his options open, Howard's intentions were never to alienate his teammates, coaches or general manager.

The circumstances, however, spiraled out of control and turned into something he never wanted to happen. Howard was very remorseful for the situation that he created, but eager to turn it around and show everyone who has been hurt by his actions how much he appreciates them and how sorry he is for Wednesday’s events.

"I have gotten some bad advice," Howard said. "I apologize for this circus I have caused to the fans of our city. They didn't deserve none of this. I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. I will do whatever I can to make this right and do what I was put in Orlando to do."

The situation has also been stressful for Howard and his family, but he isn't thinking of making any excuses or point any fingers. Howard only wants to get back to being the man Orlando grew to love and cheer for.

"This has been a very hard time," Howard said. "For me, my family and all of us. The fans deserve a better hero and I will make that happen. I love and appreciate my fans and this city."

Howard said that he plans on signing the ETO waiver first thing on Thursday morning. He also plans on making some internal changes to ensure this situation isn't repeated in the future.

- Jarrod Rudolph is a Senior Writer of RealGM and can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @MisterRudolph.

Forgot to weigh in the fact that the Magic currently hold the 3rd play off spot in the East. The Nets are not in the playoff picture right now so I understand that being a reason to detract him from wanting to leave. Nevertheless, I truly believe the Nets would of had a decent chance at the 8th spot. They would have to battle fiercely for it of course, but it is nevertheless possible.

Well, hopefully the Magic can do some damage this post season. I believe they can be a force to be reckon with if everyone is spiritually committed to win.

Nowitzki, of course, can remain a very productive sub-20.0 PER player, as most of the players on this list — and many others — have done before. And as by far the best perimeter shooter in this group, Nowitzki has a chance to age in a different way, especially if the Mavericks can continue supplying him with skillful pick-and-roll partners and legitimate centers to ease his burden on defense. Nowitzki has already increased his three-point attempts in each of the last two seasons as part of a team-wide evolution in Dallas that could also help prolong his career.

Nowitzki: Given Nowitzki’s love of Dallas and that the Mavericks have $0 in guaranteed money on the books beyond the 2013-14 season, it seems likely that he would return on a cheap deal if he decides to play past that 2013-14 season. There certainly aren’t any cap obstacles in the way, even if the Mavs manage to sign a max-level free agent next summer. If they don’t, Nowitzki will have to look around the league and see who can offer him a chance at another title, how much they can offer and whether he’d like to change teams.

And before you ask: Ginobili should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer despite his so-so raw stat totals (just over 10,000 regular-season points) and meager two All-Star appearances. He’s an international basketball legend who didn’t come to the NBA until he was 25 and played his entire career under a coach who prioritizes long-term health above short-term minutes totals. Ginobili should finish his career with one of the 35 or 40 highest PERs of all time, and his per-36 minute numbers project to just about 20 points, five assists and five rebounds per game — historically elite territory.

As things stand now, here’s a quick list of some future candidates to join this group as they pile up career accomplishments. All of these players have signed extensions to their rookie deals, so they’ve passed Step 1. There’s little point in considering the one-team possibility before a player takes that step.

My agent told me about four or five days before the trade that there was a rumor going around. He doubted it would happen, but he wanted me to know the rumor was out there. So the day of the trade, probably like 11 a.m., our old GM, Rick Sund, and our GM, Danny Ferry — they were telling me that the rumors were true, and that if anything goes down, it was probably going to go down by 4 p.m. that day.

Fair enough. I’m pretty confident you guys will be one of the best half dozen or so offensive teams in the league next season. The skepticism centers around defense, and especially whether the Kris Humphries/Brook Lopez front line is good enough to protect the rim and center a defense. How will you guys build that defense? What schemes can you use, and what have you seen from Lopez and Humphries going against them?

Their points per possession numbers by this measure are thus artificially low; Marc Gasol, for instance, shot 57 percent from the elbow but has a very low points per possession number). Anthony shot a whopping 62 percent on shots taken after an elbow touch, one of the highest numbers in the league.

On one hand, this confirms some obvious stuff: Isolation 20-footers are bad; attacking the rim is good. But it also raises very thorny questions about how the Knicks’ offense should look, especially after the Olympics, when Anthony thrived as a spot-up shooter behind the shorter FIBA three-point line.

the latter being one of the two positions that opposing defenses barely guarded last year — should be enough to kick the Lakers up a few spots without any stylistic changes. If the worst-case scenario happens, and Bryant relegates Nash to spot-up duty, having arguably the greatest shooter in league history in Ramon Sessions’ place should be worth a few points per game.

All of us have been fretting, to some degree, about Bryant’s willingness to play nice within a new ecosystem that will feature the Princeton offense, an elite point guard and a pick-and-roll beast of a center. The concern is justified. But in all of this collective anxiety, we’ve sort of buried a very basic fact about Kobe Bryant: He is a fantastic off-ball cutter.

Dirk Nowitzki broke a bit of news over the weekend by tweeting during a Q-and-A with followers that he will play two more seasons and decide after that whether he wants to continue his NBA career. This isn’t all that surprising because his contract runs for two more seasons, after which Nowitzki will be at an age where even stars generally leave the game.

• Nowitzki: Given Nowitzki’s love of Dallas and that the Mavericks have $0 in guaranteed money on the books beyond the 2013-14 season, it seems likely that he would return on a cheap deal if he decides to play past that 2013-14 season.

Still, Howard and Nash would earn just north of $30 million combined in this scenario, meaning Bryant might have to “settle” for something in the $10 million annual range to keep the books as clean as possible. And as always with the Lakers (and any team), a dozen things could change between now and then to obliterate this cap projection. But there’s no obvious reason as of now why Bryant might need to go elsewhere.

With Duncan locked up and Tony Parker on the books for another two seasons after 2012-13, will it be time for San Antonio to move on from one of its three core players? Would Ginobili, as loyal to San Antonio as Duncan, actually want to move on at age 36?

The Heat may not want to pay the mammoth tax bills that will come every season these guys are around, but they still have the amnesty provision in the bag and a few mid-sized contracts (Mike Miller, Udonis Haslem, Joel Anthony) expire after 2014-15, providing at least a little relief.

Johnson: My agent told me about four or five days before the trade that there was a rumor going around. He doubted it would happen, but he wanted me to know the rumor was out there. So the day of the trade, probably like 11 a.m., our old GM, Rick Sund, and our GM, Danny Ferry — they were telling me that the rumors were true, and that if anything goes down, it was probably going to go down by 4 p.m. that day.

Oh, yeah. The older you get, the more you have to train, and the harder you have to train. You have to work on all the little things just to stay away from injuries. Your body doesn’t react the same way now like it did when you were 22 or 23. I train a lot harder now than I did when I was 23. You don’t really know how to train that hard coming out of college.

The Knicks’ wild 2011-12 season provides a window into this question. Charles Oakley can talk all he wants about how Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire need to play better defense – he’s right — but the basic fact that defined New York’s crazy season, and the one that will define its future, is this: New York scored only 98.5 points per 100 possessions with Anthony, Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler on the court together.

But there is useful data in there, including info that does more than simply confirm what we already know (i.e., Tony Parker is fast, or Kevin Durant shoots better immediately after the catch than he does after a few dribbles).

It’s a fair assessment. I think most fans, players, and coaches alike know that flopping is a problem, and doesn’t belong in the league. The trouble is, how do you fix it? Will a policy like this actually work? My main concern would be how it is enforced, since judging whether somebody is flopping is completely subjective. Granted, some, if not most, are pretty obvious, but what happens the first time someone gets suspended or fined heftily for a controversial flop?

“(Bargnani) is the same guy he was, even better than he was, before the season started last year and before he got hurt,” Casey said. “He came into camp in great shape, 15 pounds heavier and stronger, but he is playing at that high level that we saw last year and I am excited about it. When he plays at that level, he can be an All-Star. He is one of the most talented players in the league when he plays at that level and I have all the confidence in the world that he is going to play at that level.”

Eric Bledsoe is still developing as a point guard. His combination of strength and quickness is unique but he’s a scorer before playmaker. Defensively, he may be one of the team’s best options in the backcourt. He may be one of the top change-of-pace point guards in the game right now.

Of course, this is all being blown out of proportion a little, as all O’Neal really said was he feels Andrew Bynum and Brook Lopez are more traditional centers than Howard. Note that O’Neal didn’t say “better.” He just said “more traditional.”